By Pfc. Jacqueline Fitzgerald

129th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

South Dakota Army National Guard

PARAMARIBO, Suriname (July 11, 2008) - Ninety-three Soldiers from the South Dakota Army National Guard landed in Suriname last weekend to participate in the Beyond the Horizon 2008 exercise.

Members of the 155th Engineer Company, the 153rd Engineer Battalion and the 730th Medical Company will be conducting various projects in the region. The exercise is designed to give Soldiers the opportunity to sharpen their occupational skills and practice deployment procedures while bringing lasting benefits to people of partner nations.

"Once we arrived to base camp we were busy setting up so we could start work right away," said Spc. Jeremy Jungemann of Huron, S.D. and member of the 153rd.

Leaders from the engineer units looked over the sites shortly after landing to prepare for the work scheduled to begin the following day. South Dakota Soldiers will be installing new rain gutters and improving ceilings and cabinets for the Lagere Technical School IV, the Houttuin Clinic and the Clinic Nieuwe Grond - all located in Suriname capitol of Paramaribo. 

"I´m excited to see the improvements and I´m looking forward to seeing the culture," said Jungemann.

Beyond the Horizon 2008 encompasses construction projects, medical, dental, and veterinary services in Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname. The comprehensive humanitarian assistance exercises in Suriname will take place between June and September 2008. Beyond the Horizon missions are designed to foster goodwill and improve relations between the U.S. and the governments of the region. Better government-to-government and people-to-people relations mean better responses to the challenges that face U.S. partnerships in the Caribbean and the Americas.